Rise

As demand continues to rise for air travel, new federal statistics show that domestic airfares last summer set a record for the period. In the July through September quarter, the average domestic airfare rose to $361, a 6% increase over the same period in 2010, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The average airfare for the third quarter of 2011 was 0.5% higher than the previous record high, $359 for the same period in 2008, according to the bureau.

DALLAS - Goaltender Jonas Hiller tried to make the best of the bad situation he had helped create through his shaky play in the last weeks of the regular season, but there were times uncertainty overtook him and despair crept in. He lost his starting job to rookie Frederik Andersen and for a while appeared to have dropped to third on the depth chart behind another rookie, John Gibson. He was the Ducks' forgotten man, left by the wayside as the Ducks forged to the top of the Western Conference and designated Andersen their playoff starter against the Dallas Stars.

The bedbugs are biting! An apparent rise in infestation inspires urban outcry – and public officials from Chicago to Baltimore are trying to assuage itchy, anxious residents' fears. As the Baltimore Sun reports, "Baltimore health officials launched a series of meetings Wednesday to answer such questions from residents, property managers and others — and to tell everyone not to panic. " If you're not in Baltimore, fear not: many local governments, including Michigan , New York City , and California have their own sites dedicated to the bedbug.

The plot of the South Korean television series "My Love From the Star" is farfetched, dealing with an alien who falls in love with a pop star. But the drama dominated a morning of debate for a Chinese Communist Party committee last month when delegates lamented the inability of homegrown offerings to match the show's runaway success in China. "The Korean drama craze … is resulting in a lack of confidence in our own culture," warned Xu Qinsong, a party official from Guangdong.

Pending home sales in July rose to their highest level in more than two years -- the latest sign that the nation's housing market is healing. The National Assn. of Realtors said Tuesday that its pending home sales index rose 2.4% from June to July and was up 12.4% from July last year. The index hit a level of 101.7, which is slightly above where pending home sales were averaging in 2001, a year the group describes as historically healthy. The data covers contracts signed for home purchases of previously owned homes.

The Golden State posted a 22.9% annual gain in its median home price last month, signaling housing continues to heat up in the new year. The median price is the point at which half the homes in the state sold for more and half for less. It was the 11 th consecutive year-over-year gain in the median, which was $290,000, according to real estate firm DataQuick. The median declined 2.7% from December. Sales fell 27.4% from the prior month and were up only 2.7% from the same month last year to total 19,145.

The price of food items such as beef, pork and dairy products is expected to stay high through the end of the year and into 2013, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast released Friday. The Midwest drought, the worst in decades, has driven up corn and soybean prices, which, in turn, caused retail food prices to rise. The July's food price outlook, compiled monthly by the USDA, was largely unchanged from the month before, forecasting the price of all food to rise between 2.5% and 3.5% through the end of the year.

Did you buy a car, computer or other item meant to last three years or more late last year? If so, you likely helped boost the durable goods number tracked by the Department of Commerce. Orders for these goods were up 4.6% in December, the agency said Monday morning. That was a major increase over the 0.7% rise in November. It was also way ahead of the 2% rise forecast for December by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. "The strength in durable goods orders for December is a most welcome development," said Dan Greenhaus, an analyst quoted in an Associated Press report.

Signed contracts to buy previously owned homes rose in September, but not by much, according to a trade group report. Pending sales inched up 0.3% to 99.5 from 99.2 in August, according to an index of pending sales from the National Assn. of Realtors. Contracts had hit a two-year high of 101.9 in July before slipping 2.6% the next month. At 100 on the index, pending sales are considered healthy. The gauge measures signed agreements but not closed deals, which usually come a month or two later.

Alexander McQueen, the late British designer and high fashion's enfant terrible , wasn't the type to hang around a discount mall alongside a Riverside County freeway. But that's where his eponymous label opened its first U.S. outlet store a few days ago. In addition to McQueen - the label responsible for Kate Middleton's royal wedding dress - powerhouse brands Helmut Lang and Belstaff also launched their first North American outlets in the same mall, Desert Hills Premium Outlets.

Carl Crawford batted sixth Friday in the Dodgers' 5-4, 11-inning loss to the Colorado Rockies, a move that Manager Don Mattingly insisted wasn't a demotion. Rather, the change was explained as an endorsement of Dee Gordon, who moved into the leadoff position. "It seems like that's the place where Dee is the freest," Mattingly said. BOX SCORE: Colorado 5, Dodgers 4 (11 innings) Two years after a failed experiment to make him the Dodgers' everyday shortstop, Gordon is flourishing as their primary second baseman.

The mortgage industry's output of new loans is at the lowest point in 14 years, according to estimates from a trade publication. Inside Mortgage Finance said Thursday that even in the depths of the financial crisis, mortgage lenders were busier than during the first quarter of 2014. One factor is the end of a refinance boom as interest rates have risen well off their record lows. But though the rates are still great by historical measures, mortgages written for home purchases have been weak as well, as sales of new and previously owned homes have slowed.

"American Idol" rose in the ratings Wednesday according to early numbers from Nielsen, orchestrating a weeknight win for Fox. The veteran singing contest, Fox's only program for the night, earned a 2.1 average rating among key 18-to-49-year-old viewers, up 11% from a week ago. The second-place network among young adults, ABC, was the one with the highest-rated show in the key demo: "Modern Family. " The sitcom scored a 3.4 in 18-to-49, up slightly from its most recent episode, while "The Middle" and "Suburgatory" each fell a bit. The new comedy "Mixology" rose 25% to a 1.5. CBS' "Survivor" was the night's most-watched show, with 9.3 million viewers overall and a 2.2 in 18-to-49, down 4%. NBC showed only reruns. ALSO: William Hurt pulls out of 'Midnight Rider' 'Last Comic Standing' editors return to work FX Network brews up sponsorship deal with MillerCoors ryan.faughnder@latimes.com Twitter: @rfaughnder MORE ON LOCATION: People and places behind what's onscreen PHOTOS: Biggest box office flops of 2013 PHOTOS: Celebrity production companies

The reward in the case of a brown pelican whose throat was slashed through its pouch swelled to $7,500 in a few hours Wednesday. The sum rose another $2,500 thanks to the "generous support of individual donors," said Andrew Harmon, a spokesman for International Bird Rescue, the organization overseeing the pelican's care in San Pedro. Harmon would identify the donors only as two women from the Los Angeles area. The organization earlier Wednesday had announced a $5,000 reward for any leads in the case.

NBC's new comedy "About A Boy" rose week-to-week in the ratings, even with a diminished showing from its big lead-in, "The Voice. " According to early numbers from Nielsen, "About A Boy" earned a rating of 1.9 among key 18-to-49-year-old viewers, up 6% from the last episode, marking the second week in a row that the show has grown. Singing contest "The Voice," Tuesday night's highest-rated show, fell 10% to a 2.7, its lowest ever, not counting specials. "Growing Up Fisher" was flat at a 1.5. NBC was the top network, turning in an average of 1.8 in the 18-49 demographic, where a ratings point equals about 1.3 million viewers. PHOTOS: Behind the scenes of movies and TV CBS showed only reruns but was still the most-watched network, averaging 9.4 million viewers, versus NBC's 7.3 million. On ABC, "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Did Frank McCourt's decision to sell the Dodgers spur fans to sign up for season tickets? That's debatable. But the team says reduced prices did the trick. The Dodgers' season-ticket sales are up 30% from this time last year, according to a person familiar with the team's business but not authorized to discuss it publicly. David Siegel, the Dodgers' senior director of ticket sales, said there had been "no discernible bump" in sales in the days after last week's announcement that McCourt would sell the team.

Boosted by strong sales, Boeing Co. beat analysts' estimates for its first quarter largely because of faster production of commercial jetliners. The Chicago aerospace giant reported a profit of $965 million, or $1.28 a share. That's down 12.7% from $1.11 billion, or $1.44 a share, a year earlier. Boeing attributed the fall to a $330-million write-off related to changes in its pension plans and a one-time tax credit in 2013. The company's core earnings - excluding retirement costs and the write-off - rose to $1.76 a share, up from $1.73 a share a year earlier.

New home sales plunged in March, another sign the spring home-buying season has started with a whimper. Sales of recently built single-family homes fell 14.5% from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Sales dropped 13.3% compared with March 2013. The March data missed expectations, after economists predicted an increase from February as the home-buying season got underway. Quiz: How much do you know about mortgages?